An Australian father was coming to terms with missing the birth of his third child due to work commitments in a remote part of Australia.

Coincidentally, Samsung was looking for ways to illustrate the potential applications of virtual reality (VR) technology, using its newly released headset.

To show what might be possible, Samsung used VR to enable the father to watch the birth of his son live, from 4,000 kilometres away.

We had to ensure this globally relevant story captured attention all over the world. We also had to ensure that this wasn’t just a generic VR story. Samsung had to be intrinsically linked.

To do this we created a bespoke piece of content. The story was packaged up much like a lifestyle TV news piece. It ensured Samsung was intrinsically linked. Our job then was to ensure media didn’t simply report on the news of the first VR birth, but instead embedded our pre-packaged story.

With the objective to drive positive sentiment and maximum views of the video on YouTube, we tapped into Australian journalists knowing that if this had momentum and strong pick up in the home market it would stand a better chance gaining international attention.

The outcome was a total of more than 12 million YouTube views (without paid support) driven entirely by PR, with over 400 media articles, and 100% key message cut-through.

The story of the lead up to the birth, and how the technology would bring our separated parents together, formed the basis of a mini-documentary. This content was launched on Facebook and Youtube and was spread via social media and a global PR strategy targeting mainstream consumer, technology and trade outlets along with paid media. Two pieces of branded video content were created - a longer form launch piece and a shorter follow up piece. Our ambition was to create content that didn’t just highlight the technology, but its human applications, thereby driving mass viewing and brand love for Samsung.

Samsung removed the tyranny of distance, creating a new class of memories that have never previously existed – memories that only our technology can make possible.

Over 15 million views globally.

Over $10 million earned media.

Social platform engagement: 4.9 million

Social media impressions: 17.6 million.

65% organic views.

This story shows the positive role Samsung can play in society by connecting people in meaningful experiences.